Apparatus for turning objects

ABSTRACT

A device (1) to turn an object (2), said device comprising an object-supporting bight (4), a continuous belt, line, chain or the like. After the bight (3) the two parts of the belt (4) extend into parts (5, 6) each one of which travels past a deflection means (8, 9), such as a roller. On the lower side of said parts they are united by means of a lower belt part (7). The belt (4) is provided with support members (10-25) support the object, and the length of the belt is sufficient to fully encircle the object (2), or at least partly encircle a symmetrical portion of it, in the intended direction of rotation. In a hypothetical encircling position of the belt, the support members (10-25) extend radially outwards, and these members are configured to essentially fill up the space between the belt itself and the object, and each support member abuts against the object (2) at least at one point. When the object is positioned on said bight (3 ) and its support members, the belt assumes essentially the same position with respect to the object (2) as when the object was encircled by the belt. In this way, the object will be turned in a controlled manner when the belt is set in motion through turning the deflection means (8).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject invention concerns an apparatus adapted to rotatably supportat least one object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When wrapping objects in paper or plastics it is as a rule necessary toeither lift or somehow turn the object on a working table top. Thisoperation is an easy one only if the object has a cylindrical or almostcylindrical shape. On the other hand, if the object is more irregular orangular in shape it becomes a great deal more complicated to wrap theobject. For instance, in order to apply a wrapping around a hearty boxor a box-shaped bale of straw, the box or bale must first be lifted andplaced in position on the wrapping sheet by means of a lifting aidwhereupon the wrapping sheet is wound around the object to allow thepackage to be closed. An alternative way of applying the wrapping is toroll the object to which one end of the wrapping material has beenattached, on the table top in such a manner that the wrapping covers theobject. The wrapping is then closed about the object. However, rollingof the often angular or square object on the support is a hard and oftenlaborious task, particularly if it is done manually. One solution tomechanize the wrapping procedure is to clamp the object in position atits short ends and to thereafter rotate the object so as to apply thewrapping about it. The object must then be deposited on a working top toallow closing at the short ends. This procedure is a time-consuming one.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the subject invention is to considerably reduce theproblems outlined above by creating a device designed to turn an objectwithout fastening it. During its turning movement, the object issupported on a support face which runs round the object while the latteris being turned. In this manner, the entire surface of the object isaccessible during the turning movement of the object and as a result thewrapping of the paper or plastics material about the object may be doneduring the very turning movement. In addition, all the various surfacesof the object become accessible during the turning movement so that textor other information may be applied thereon by means of stamping orotherwise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose outlined above is achieved in accordance with the inventionin a device possessing the characteristics defined in the appendedclaims.

The device in accordance with the invention thus is essentiallycharacterised in that the object is placed on a bight of a belt. Thebelt is provided with a number of support members and the object restson said members and in some cases also on the belt. The belt travelsaround at least two deflection means and the support members are mountedon the outer face of the belt. The deflection means could be e.g.rollers or rolls. The length of the belt is sufficient to ensure that itencloses the object in the shape of a circle or, in the case ofsymmetrical bodies, that part of it encloses the object, in the intendeddirection of rotation. For, if the object is symmetrical in thedirection of rotation, it suffices that the belt encloses a symmetricalpart of the object. When this is the case, one or more sides, of anobject having a square transectional configuration could in principle beenclosed by the belt. For a stable support of the object a one quarterenclosure of the object is not, however, sufficient. The support membersare given a suitable shape by being configured in conformity with theobject while the belt is positioned so as to encircle the object withthe support members projecting radially inwards, so that at least onepoint on each and every support member abuts against the object. Insteadof a belt, another circular body having the same radius may be used toeffect the matching configuration of the support members. From ahypothetical position wherein a belt provided with support membersencloses the object like a circle, the members then are positioned onthe deflection means of the device and the belt is opened and is carriedaround the deflection means and is closed on the lower side. The bightof the belt which then supports the object, will adopt the shape of thecircular arc corresponding to the circle formed by the belt as itencloses the object like a circle. When one of the deflection means, orboth, are driven, the belt will be rotated. Its bight will constantlyadopt a circular-arc shape and support the object. This is a consequenceof adaptation of the size and the mutual distances between thedeflection means to the length of the belt in such a manner that onealways obtains a bight having the shape of the desired configuration ofa radius of a circle. As a result, the object will be turned and berotated around the center position of the belt in the circularlyenclosing position that was used to tailor the configuration of thesupport means. This means that the object will be turned in a controlledmanner with its center of rotation remaining essentially stable duringthe turning movement. Thus, even and controlled turning movement of theobject will be achieved.

If the device is used to apply a paper or plastics wrapping to theobject, this operation preferably is performed by attaching the frontedge of the wrapping material, which preferably is stored on a roller,to the object, whereby the wrapping material will accompany the objectas the latter is being turned. The wrap is clamped between the objectand the support means of the device. For the duration of the turningmovement for which the operator suitably selects the number of turns tobe performed, the short ends of the object are unobstructed. This meansthat the operator can start inserting the wrapping material at the shortends of the object while the latter is still being turned. This savestime compared to devices engaging the short end walls of the objectduring the turning movement. Since the short end walls are unobstructedthey may be provided with information or signs as the object isfollowing its path of movement.

In accordance with another alternative manner of wrapping an object in apaper or plastics material, the roller holding the paper or plasticsmaterial is carried around the body in one plane, while at the sametime, the body is rotating in another plane. In this manner, the entirebody is covered in one operation. In accordance with one practicalexample relating to the wrapping of a square bale of straw in a plasticsmaterial, the bale is thus enclosed in six layers of a thin plasticsfilm to produce an airtight package. Because the body is turned at aneven speed, an even and overlapping of the layers is obtained. Inaccordance with one prior-art solution the body rotates on a bight of aconventional conveyor belt. On accont of its angular shape, the body inthis case rotates at highly varying speeds and actually it bouncesrather than rotates. Consequently, larger widths of the roll of wrappingpaper or plastics are required, in addition to which the risks fordeficient wrapping are increased. Fragile bodies could hardly be wrappedat all by this method. In order to increase the wrapping speed, two ormore rolls could be used when practising the last-mentioned alternative,both rolls being carried in common around the body in the same plane. Inaccordance with the invention, the object is turned at an even speedabout an essentially fixed center of rotation. Obviously, this isparticularly important when the wrapping has to be carried out rapidly.The subject invention thus makes it possible to wrap objects moreefficiently and with better results, and also to wrap fragile bodies inthe manner suggested.

The configuration of the support members and their attachment to thebelt do not interfere with the movement of the belt around thedeflection means. This means that in many cases they must be hingedlyconnected to the belt, and a certain clearance must always exist betweenthe side of each support member facing the belt, and the belt itself asthe latter travels around the deflection means. This feature will beexplained in closer detail in connection with the description of thevarious preferred embodiments. As already mentioned, the belt of thedevice may circularly enclose for instance three quarters or half of thebody circumference when the body is symmetrical. In this case the objectwill rotate over three quarters or over half a turn for each rotationalturn of the belt. The belt of the device could also consist of a numberof composite circularly enclosing belt sections. In this case the objectwill rotate over two, three or several turns when the composite beltcompletes one full rotational turn. For instance, when the belt of thedevice encircles a symmetrical body over two and three quarters of aturn, the body will rotate over two and three quarters of a turn uponeach full rotational turn of the belt. Solutions of the kind outlined inthe aforegoing provide more freedom of design of the various parametersthat affect the manner in which the object is turned. This may be ofimportance, particularly in the case of objects having a rather complexconfiguration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

All embodiments of the invention will be described in closer detail withreference to the accompanying drawings wherein identical referencenumerals have been used in the various drawing figures to designatecorresponding details and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention, the object to berotated, and the adaptation of the support members of the device.

FIG. 2 illustrates the position of the object after it has been turnedas a result of movement of the belt over a certain distance.

FIG. 3 illustrates the position of the object after additional turningthereof by means of the device.

FIG. 4 illustrates the position of the object following further turningmovement.

FIG. 5 illustrates the manner in which the support members of the devicehave been adapted for objects having a rounder configuration. Like inFIG. 1, the object is lowered vertically straight down so as to rest onthe belt of the device.

FIG. 6 illustrates the position of the object after the belt has beenturned over a certain distance.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, numeral reference 1 designates a device arranged to turn orrotate an object 2 . The device comprises a belt, line, chain or thelike 4 which is endless during the turning movement. The belt isflexible and is looped or wrapped around at least two deflection means8, 9, such as rollers, wheels or rolls. A larger number of rolls couldbe used, should this be deemed suitable. The length of the belt 4 isadapted to ensure that a bight 3 is formed on the upper face of thedevice 1. The object 2 is supported on this bight of the belt by restingon a plurality of support members 10-25 which are secured to the belt.

By a suitably choosing of the length of the belt, the shape and the sizeof the support members, and the distance between the deflection means 8,9 , a device is created which turns or rotates the objects in acontrolled manner. The principles guiding the choice of the parametersare understood from viewing FIG. 1. The upper part of the drawing figureshows the manner in which the belt 4 encircles the object 2 in animaginary position, illustrated in dash-and-dot lines in the figure.Consequently, the belt must be sufficiently long to enclose the objector a symmetrical part thereof within a circle. The center of the circleis designated by 0 and the radius by the designation R .In accordancewith the shown embodiment the object 2 is square and its corners liedirectly on the belt. With the same angular enclosure of the object thebelt could also have been longer. In that case, the corners of theobject would not have touched the belt directly. The space between thebelt 4 and the object 2 is filled up with a number of support members10-25. The upper part of FIG. 1 thus shows the manner in which it ispossible to devise a suitable configuration of the support members 10-25on the basis of a given length of the belt 4. The support members are tobe shaped in conformity with the imagined circular shape of the belt aswell as with the shape of the object 2. In accordance with theembodiment shown the support members fill up the entire space closest tothe object 2. Thus, the faces of the support members that extend towardsthe object will be able to support one another, which is an advantage.However, this is not necessary but their surface of contact with theobject 2 could equally well be smaller, in many cases even just in theform of a point. Since the object usually has a considerablelongitudinal extent it therefore would be supported by a number oflengthwise cam members, tubes, stays or the like.

When a large number of objects of identical configuration or almostidentical configuration, such as e.g. standard bales of straw, are to beturned or rotated, the time required to produce the required supportmembers 10-25 and to mount them on the belt 4, is not of greatimportance. On the other hand, when a small number of objects ofidentical configuration are to be rotated, considerably speedier methodsare required to produce and mount the support members. This could bedone by initially providing the belt with support members having avariable geometry. The belt is initially positioned in its encirclingposition and held there while the support members are moved inwards,either manually or automatically, into contact with the object. Finally,they are secured manually or automatically, and whereupon the belt andthe object is mounted on the deflection means 8, 9 of the device 1. Thebelt 4 is then opened up at a suitable location therein, is loopedaround the deflection means and is then re-closed.

In practical terms, the variable geometry could be achieved by makingthe stays or stay plates adjustable as to their length, and byinterconnecting them hingedly at their ends, either to one another, orby way of intermediate stays or stay plates. This solution makes itpossible to quickly form the support members illustrated in FIGS. 1-4.The support members could also be in the shape of blocks equipped with anumber of contact means arranged to be extended into contact with theobject which can then be immobilized in that extended position. In bothcases the adjustment may be effected by telescopic or excentricattachment means.

The basic principle of the device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is that the objectrests on a bight 3 of the belt. The bight is in the shape of an arc of acircle, which means that the belt and the support members assume thesame position with respect to the object as they do in the imaginaryupper position wherein the belt encircles the object 2. The transitionfrom the encircling position of the belt, to the operative position ofthe belt, when mounted in the device, is most easily understood byimagining that the object together with the encircling belt, is loweredvertically downwards along the indicated dash-and-dot lines in such amanner that the bight 3 together with its support members 10-13 issupported in the shown circular-arc position. The position of the object2 now is identical to the one the object assumes in the upper part ofthe drawing figure. If we now imagine that the belt in the upper part ofthe figure is divisible, for instance between support members 19 and 20,the belt may be opened up and the two belt ends be wound around the twodeflection means 8 and 9, respectively. One belt part will be in contactwith the deflection means 8 along the stretch indicated by 5 whereas theother belt part will be in contact with the deflection means 9 along thestretch indicated by 6. The two belt parts thereafter follow ahorizontal stretch 7 where they meet. If the distance between thedeflection means 8, 9 and the size of these means are adjustedcorrectly, the belt ends will just reach one another. In the embodimentillustrated, the object 2 will be rotated one full turncounter-clockwise when the belt 4 performs one complete turn in theclockwise direction. This means that the angular enclosure of the beltbight 3 around the object is comparatively small, about 90° of thecircumference of the object. In addition, the diameter of the deflectionmeans 8, 9 is comparatively limited. However, it is also possible todesign the device 1 in such a manner that the object 2 will be rotatedtwo, three, four or more turns for each complete rotational turn of thebelt 4. This could be effected by using two or nmore several belts, eachequipped with support members 10-25 , which can be interconnected intoone long belt which travels around the device 1. The angular enclosureof the belt bight part 3 could then be considerably larger and thediameters of the deflection means 8, 9 be larger or else a larger numberof deflection means could be used. This option is of importance whenmore fragile objects 2 are to be handled by the rotating device or wheneven and controlled turning motions are critical. This is the case whenit is desirable that the center of rotation C of the object remains verystable during the turning movement, or whenever precision is of primaryimportance in these respects. When the body is symmetrical, parts of anencircling turn could be used, for instance only two of the four sides.

In order to understand this line of reasoning, the manner of support ofthe object 2 in accordance with FIGS. 1-4 should be studied. Eachsupport member 10-25 is attached to the belt at two points in thelengthwise extension of the belt. Preferably, the support members 10-25are hingedly secured to the belt in these two points In addition, thesupport members should be designed to ensure that no part thereof willbe squeezed against the belt as the latter travels past any of thedeflection means 8, 9. The support members could consist for instance ofbent sheet metal plates, tubes or stays having two sides facing outwardsfrom the belt, such as for instance the support members 25, 10, 13, 14,17, 18, 21, 22, or have three sides facing outwards from the belt, as isthe case with the remaining support members. The support members thatare positioned on the bight 3, which is shaped as an arc of a circle,are those that support the object 2. They assume the same position withrespect to the object 2 that they had in the encircling position of thebelt 4. The support members having one pivot point positioned on thebelt bight and the second pivot point positioned on the respectivedeflection means 8, or 9 assume a position deviating from in theencircling position of the belt 4. In FIG. 1, the support member 14 isjust about to move into engagement with the object 2 and the supportmember 25 is about to move away from its engagement with the object 2.In FIG. 2, the support member 16 is about to move into an engagementposition and in FIG. 3, the support member 19 is too, and in FIG. 4, thesupport member 21 is about to do so. In FIG. 2 the support member 11 hasleft its position of object engagement as have support member 14 in FIG.3 and support member 16 in FIG. 4. It is important that the supportmembers move into and out of their positions of engagement withoutcausing damage to the object that is turned by the device, or to anymaterial that might be in progress of being wrapped about the object.For this reason, the support member corners could be rounded to presentcutting or scratching either the object or its wrapping material.

The sequence of the drawing FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the manner in which theobject 2 is turned or rotated in consequence of the rotary movement ofthe belt 4, which could be effected by driving one of the deflectionmeans, e.g. means 8, in a rotary clockwise motion. An importantadvantage brought about by the device is that the object 2 is impartedan essentially rotary movement about the center of rotation 0 that waschosen when the configuration of the support members was decided. Theobject shown in the drawing figure sequence 1-4 could be a bale of strawonto which a protective cover of is to be applied. Since the bale has aconsiderable lengthwise extension it is reasonable to use a belt havingapproximately the same lengthwise extension. The bale will thereforerest steadily on the belt. Since the bale merely rests on the supportmembers and is given a rotary motion by said members, all faces of theobject are accessible during wrapping for marking, which is an importantadvantage.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show in a similar manner an object 2 having acomparatively round circumferential configuration and resting on thebelt 4. Since large stretches of the circumference in this case followthe circular-arc shape, the number of support members may be reducedconsiderably. The stretches following the arc of the circle aredesignated in the drawing figures by references 26 and 31. Thus, theyneed not have any support members, the latter being provided in twogroups, 22-30 and 32-37, respectively. In case the object 2 has a smalllengthwise extension and therefore cannot rest steadily on a belt, it isconceivable to provide staying means to ensure that the object does notfall over.

In the drawing figures illustrated, each support member is, as alreadymentioned, hingedly attached to the belt in two points in the lengthwiseextension of the belt. Intermediate the attachment points, the belt isfree, allowing it to bulge or bend in the opposite direction as it movespast the deflection means 8, 9, such that the belt movements may beundisturbed. However, it is likewise possible to attach the supportmembers to the belt in a different manner. For instance, at one or bothends of the support member the side thereof could be retracted, wherebythe hinged attachment would be positioned closer to the middle of thesupport member. In this manner one or two support faces would be createdwhich then preferably are shaped as a circular arc so as to conform withthe belt in the encircling position thereof. In this manner the beltwill absorb the weight of the object in a more favourable manner. Thisis of importance, particularly in the case of heavy objects. In thismanner, the ability of the bight 3 to retain the desired circular-arcconfiguration is improved. In addition, it is possible to provide thesupport members with one single attachment point positioned adjacent orclose to the center of the belt lengthwise. In this manner the entiresurface of the support member that is turned against the belt could beconfigured in conformity with the circular arc of the enclosing circle,which is the optimum configuration to support the weight of the object.On the other hand, the modifications just referred to, provide a lessefficient guide and control of the support members as the latter movesin and out of the object-engaging positions.

As appears from FIGS. 5 and 6 the support members have side walls thatpoint towards the imagined center of rotation. In other words, thesupport members are shaped like sectors of a circle, whereas in theother drawing figures they are more box-shaped. In the circularlyenclosing position, the side walls of the support members abut againstone another. This means that they will support one another on the bight3 of the belt and consequently they attribute to maintaining thecircular-arc configuration of the bight. The device 1 could also be usedfor bodies of many various shapes. As already mentioned, a number offactors affect the conditions during the movements of the supportmembers into and out of engagement. By appropriate choice of the beltgeometry and support member configuration it is possible to handlebodies of almost any shape. Another important factor is the sensitivitytoward objects and the wrapping material, if any.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for rotatably supporting at least one objecthaving an outside surface and a portion thereof which is symmetrical,said object including an axis of rotation, wherein a distance existsbetween said axis and said outside surface, comprising;a flexiblyarranged and continuously moving conveying means having an outer face,an inner face, a front edge, a trailing edge, a first and a second end,said front and trailing edges defining a width of said conveying means,said first and second ends defining a length of said means, said firstand second ends connected together such that said means forms aperpetual loop when said means is operatively moving and rotativelysupporting said object; a plurality of support members attached alongsaid outer face of said conveying means, said members in supportingcontact with said object when placed on said conveying means, each ofsaid members having multiple sides, one of said sides attached to saidconveying means, and one of said sides in contact with said object, andadjacent support members having adjacent sides; a first and second meansfor causing a deflection in said conveying means, said first and secondmeans longitudinally displaced from each other and having parallelrotational axis wherein each of said first and second means rotates in acommon direction, each of said first and second means having an outsidesurface which defines a generally circular configuration, said conveyingmeans wrapped around and in simultaneous contact along a part of arespective outside surface of each said deflection means such that saidperpetual loop of said conveying means is in an encircling position,whereby said loop forms a respective stretch portion about eachdeflection means, a common bight portion therebetween, and a commonhorizontal stretch portion therebetween, said horizontal stretch portionvertically below said bight portion, said bight portion having asemi-arcuate shape for receiving said object therein, said semi-arcuateshape substantially equal to an imaginary arc segment that said radiusof said object would form if said radius was swept about said axis ofsaid object, said imaginary arc segment defining a space between saidarc segment and said outside surface of said object, wherein saidplurality of support members are configured to mirror said same spacebetween said imaginary arc segment and said outside surface of saidobject, said space being linearly transposed in the form of said supportmembers along said conveying means.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the support members contact each other along their respectiveadjoining sides when the belt is in said encircling position.
 3. Adevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support members are mountedon the top side of said belt at two attachment points, the belt beingconfigured such that the belt may roll around the deflection meanswithout said means interferring with the support members.
 4. A device asclaimed in claim 3, wherein said attachment points are located on thefront and trailing edges of the support member, thereby connecting eachsaid member to the belt.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidattachment points are spaced from the front and trailing edge of theassociated support member in such a manner that when said belt is in theobject-encircling position, said member conforms to the circular shapeof the belt.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe support members is mounted on the belt by means of an attachmentpoint, and the side of the support member which faces the belt in theobject-encircling position, essentially conforms with the circular shapeof the belt such that the belt bight will be evenly loaded by theobject.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the point ofattachment of the support member is halfway between the front andtrailing edges of the support member.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 1,wherein at least one support member is hingedly attached to the belt sothat the attachment does not interfere with the ability of the belt toroll around the deflection means.